Apparatus for making concrete mixtures



May 27 1924. 1,495,415

D. s. HUMPHREY APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONCRETE MIXTURE IS Filed Feb. 12 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet. 1

Wm M attain; 3

May 27 1924. 1,495,415

D. s. HUMPHREY APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONCRETE MIXTURES Filed Feb. 12. 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 wuahtoz HUMFHEE'Y wi/bweoo x 60. Jfuemf May 27 1924. 1,495,415

D.S.HUMPHREY APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONCRETE MIXTURES Filed Feb. 12 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet '5 E IL2 a $2 5 i IVVENTUR iizizvzazazaxa rt i 5 FE, n l Clttoznzag;

May 27, 1924. 1,495,415

D. S. HUMPHREY APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONCRETE MIXTURES Filed Feb. 12, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 lgi'//////A ameuto z ZEHUMPHEEK Patented May 27, 1924.

DUDLEY S. HUMPHREY, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE LAMBIE CONCRETE HOUSE CORPORATION, A COMPANY OF MAINE.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONCRETE MIXTURES.

Application filed February 12, 1920.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DUDLEY S. HUMrH- REY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new'and useful Improvements in an Apparatus for Making Concrete Mixtures, of which the following is a specification,

Thepresent invention is an improvement in apparatus for making concrete, and the apparatus is particularly constructed to mix and deliver concrete according to the process set forth and claimed in my application filed on the 19 day of January, 1920, Serial Number 352,495. That is to say, this apparatus comprises means for hydrating a pulverulent cement to a uniform consistency in a steady stream, together'with means for incorporating and thoroughly mixing this cement compound with rock, gravel or other concrete-forming aggregates and conveying and keeping it alive and in a flowing viscid state to its ultimate point of delivery and use. This mechanism or means is mounted as a unit on a frame or carriage with wheels to permit it to be moved from place to place as the work requires, and it is especially adapted for pouring concrete buildings and roadways without cessation of flow.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus, but with the delivery elevator broken away and foreshortened. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the opposite side of the machine, with parts broken away. Fig. 3 is a view of the feed end of the machine, or looking in from the left of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sectional View transversely of the machine throughthe several mixing cylinders to show their related positions and including some of the parts adapted especially to work therewlth. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the apparatus. Flg. 6 18 a cross section of the elevatingconveyer and finishing mixer taken on line 6-6, Fig. 1, but omitting the hood or discharge spout at the outer end thereof. Fig. 7 is a cross section of one of the secondary or concrete mixing cylinders and showing the roller supports therefor. Fig. 8 is a cross sect on of the primary or cement hydrating cylinder.

Serial No. 358,117.

partly modified to co-act with my present organization of parts which convert the raw materials into a flowing concrete preparatory to elevating and delivering it. All of these parts are assembled together and operatively related with a source of power on them transversely at this point is to provide for entire freedom of operation at the front of the machine, furnish ample room for mounting the engine E on the carriage, equalize and balance the Weight of the parts on the carriage, and permit the cement hopper to be located at one side of the carriage. The arrangement also contributes to compactness and convenience of the parts on the carriage and to simplicity and economy in the operating connections, so that in general the apparatus will serve all practical operating purposes,'eithe'r in laying concrete pavements or inpouring concrete buildings and other structures.

Each cylinder is adapted to rotate on grooved rollers 7 mounted on inclined shafts 8 parallelling the sides of the cylinders and supported in bearings on the upright posts 10 on the carriage. A tubular elbow 12 connects the depressed end of the hydrating cylinder 2 with the elevated end ofcylinder 3, and a corresponding elbow 14.- connects the closely-related ends of the reversely-inclined cylinders 3 andfl, thus providing for a continuous gravity flow through said cylinders of such material as enters the same. A chute or spout 15 at the lower end of cylinder 4 directs the material into the inclined trough of the elevating conveyer 5 The natural flow is from the entrance of the upper or primary cylinder '2 downward through the intervening cylinders to the bottom end of conveyer 5.

Hydrating cylinder 2 is supplied with pulverulent cement through a small hopper h located at the upper end of posts 10, and the cement is delivered continuously in measured quantities to this small hopper from a larger hopper 17 beneath by means of an endless bucket conveyer 16 which is driven at its upper end through a sprocket shaft 19 and its power connections with a counter shaft 18. The cement which drops into hopper h is positively fed through a small cylinder 20 which extends and discharges into the raised end of the main hydrating and reducing cylinder 2, and a worm or screw conveyer 21, or its equivalent, is used in cylinder 20 to feed the cement. Screw 21 is rotated by shaft 19 and a sprocket chain 23 at a higher rate of speed than the main cylinder 2, concurrently with the delivery of water through a supply pipe 24 into the outer end of cylinder 2 beneath the discharge end of screw 21. All the water required for the ultimate concrete mixture is delivered by supply pipe 24, so that as the cement is fed into the cylinder from above it is caught in the swirl of water entering cylinder 2 and the saturation and mixing begins without clogging or check until completed in cylinder 2. Thus cylinder 2 rotates at about to 140 revolutions per minute, and a fairly heavy roller or shaft 25 therein revolves cor respondingly to crush, grind and refine the cement until perfectly hydrated. Aggregations of dry cement in balls or lumps or granules are necessarily ground between the roller in its revolutions over the surface of the cylinder because the rapid revolution of the cylinder carries the saturated cement repeatedly beneath the roller while this compound passes downwardly through the inclined cylinder. The result is that all the atoms of cement are crushed and whipped into dissolution and absorbed and a cement solution of exceptionally uniform consistency is discharged at the opposite end of cylinder 2 where it is adapted to enter elbow 12 together with the crushed rock, gravel or other concrete aggregates to be used. In operation shaft or roller 25 is sustained against endwise thrust by a rolling disk 27 supported by bracket 28 at the lower end of said cylinder, see Fig. 4, and the space beneath and around this disk is suiiicient to permit a free and unobstructed discharge of lower cylinder 4. Each concrete mixing cylinder is equipped with a stationary angle bar 32 which extends lengthwise therein and is supported at its ends by brackets 31, and this bar is provided with a series of'scraper and mixing blades or vanes 33 pitched at an angle and having curved edges conforming to and engaging the rounded side of the cylinder to cleanse the surface and break up, feed and mix the concrete as it revolves with the cylinder. A marked centrifugal action takes place by the high speed of rotation of the cylinder, whereby the material or a large part of it is forcibly carried against blades 33 which temporarily arrest the movement of the material and slightly advance it before dropping it downwardly into the mixture beneath, and this action is repeated many times before the end of the cylinder is reached. In addition to the mix ing effect obtained by the blades there occurs also a scouring or rubbing of the surfaces of the hard aggregates. That is to say, the blades also have the valuable function of cleansing the aggregates of dirt or other objectionable accumulations so that the cei ment may effectually reach and coat the hard surfaces of the aggregates and promote com plete binding of the aggregates and produce a solid body of concrete when it hardens.

The two concrete mixing cylinders 3 and 4 may be inclined to a greater degree than the cement mixing cylinder 2, and the concrete mixture moves steadily onward until discharged into an elbow and spout 15 which delivers it without cessation of flow into a conveyor and mixing trough 49 whither the lower stretch of the elevating conveyor 5 is adapted to travel and continue the mixing operation and to keep the concrete alive and not allow it to set or separate until deposited in a form or bed of rest.

In the present showing, the respective cylinders 2, 3 and 4 are driven by sprocket chains 34, 35 and 36 respectively, from a drive shaft 37 which is connected up with the engine, or motor by belt 39, .and power is transmitted from shaft 37 by a chain 38 to the sprocket gear 40 on short shaft 41 which supports the lower end of the elevating conveyer 5. the upper conveyor s aft 46, and a windless W operated by a crank handle 44 and pinion 45 and a gear 47 is adapted to wind and unwind cable 48 to control the elevation or inclination of the trough 49 in which the conveyor and mixing blades operate. Trough 49 is pivoted at its lower end upon the shaft 41 at the rear of the machine which carries the sprocket wheels 40 and 41, including the idler sprocket wheel 52 for the endless consprockets and a set of separate sprocket.

chains 51 and 53, each deriving their power from counter shaft 18, see Fig. 1, and the relative speeds of the difierent conveyors and cylinders are particularly calculated to A s rocket chain 42 drives furnish and maintain predetermined proportionate quantities of cement and aggregates continuously, and the flow of water through pipe 24 is also regulated so as to supply only the proper amount continuously to the cement and not in excess of what a good concrete requires. 1 may use other means than chains and sprockets to transmit the power to the revolving parts and I may also employ suitable clutches 54 wherever needed to separately control the operations of the various cylinders and conveyors, or these clutches may be omitted and-only a main clutch 55 used to stop and start the apparatus as a whole, see Fig. 5. The machine will do effective work at various speeds and the mechanism is particularly designed to permit change of speed so that continuous feeding of the cement and aggregates may be carried on according to the supply of material and the number of workmen on a given job. Thus, the machine can be slowed down to equal the maximum effort and labor of a small working force in keeping the machine supplied with materials for continuous operation, or the machine can be speeded up to keep a larger force busy continuously, and the output in either case will be a perfect cement.

WVhat I claim is:

1. In a concrete mixing apparatus, a frame, a cement hydrating cylinder supported on said frame, a plurality of concrete mixing cylinders superimposed one above the other directly beneath said hydrating cylinder having communicating connections between the corresponding ends of said cylinders alternately, means to supply water and cement to the intake end of the hydrating cylinder, and means to supply aggregates to the sec ond cylinder in the series.

2. In a concrete mixing apparatus, a frame, a series of mixing cylinders arranged one above the other across the rear of the said frame and inclined from one to the other successively, an endless elevating conveyor pivoted on said carriage in position to receive the concrete from the end of the lower of said cylinders, and means to simultaneously rotate said cylinders and operate said conveyor.

3. In a concrete mixing machine, a rotatable concrete mixing cylinder and a bar therein supported in an inclined plane provided with a series of immovable scraping and mixing blades vertically inclined in direct contact with the cylinder and adapted to promote mixing and movement of the concrete materials rotating within the cylinder, said bar and blades being stationary.

4; In a concrete mixing machine, a rotatable mixing cylinder and a bar lengthwise in the upper portion thereof supported in a stationary position at its ends, and a series of inclined mixing blades fixed immovably to said bar, having curved scraping edges engaged with the revolving inner surface of said cylinder.

Signed at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga, and State of Ohio, this 10th day of February, 1920.

DUDLEY S. HUMPI-IREY. 

